The Loons learned their US Open Cup fate today as the draw was made for the competition’s second and third rounds. For the third year in a row, Minnesota will be on the road for their entry round. They will travel to either St. Louis or Cleveland to play the winner of St. Louis FC and AFC Cleveland.
The second round, which takes place on May 18th, will see the fourth division (NPSL) side, AFC Cleveland, travel to St. Louis to play the third division (USL) St. Louis FC. The winner of that match-up will then host Minnesota United on June 1st.
A win for St. Louis would mean the Loons would be poised for a rematch of last year’s shock defeat in extra-time in St. Louis. The last time a Minnesota team beat a St. Louis team in the competition was 2008, when the Minnesota Thunder beat the PDL side, St. Louis Lions.
This year’s draw is also the first time since 2011 (when NASL teams were banned from the competition) that Minnesota will not have the potential to play the Des Moines Menace in the competition. Des Moines will instead play the Tulsa Roughnecks.
Minnesota has a checkered past in the USOC, reaching the highs of beating Real Salt Lake (after having sold the hosting rights) in 2012 and 2005’s dream run that included beating the Colorado Rapids (4-1) and the Kansas City Wizards (3-1) before succumbing to the Los Angeles Galaxy 5-2 in the semi-finals. But Minnesota has had more lows than highs, having been beaten on multiple occasions in the first round by lesser team.
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